CALIFORNIA RESEARCH BUREAUCALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARYStudies in the News

- "California Indians are the first Californians, having occupied the land for millennia, but most citizens and visitors to our state do not know this fact or the story of California Indians. California Indians are a diverse people with world-views, traditions, stories and songs, all based on a balanced and respectful relationship with the land and its people. " http://www.laprensa-sandiego.org/archieve/may24-02/seals.htm

- "The history of California Indians is a different story from that of other ethnic groups who came in the last few centuries as immigrants to an already populated land. For Indians, this is their homeland, and their history spans more than 10,000 years of occupation. Unlike other groups who came to California to gain wealth or to escape undesirable conditions, California Indians lived in a land of plenty. Their material technology reflected what was necessary to meet their needs. " http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/5views/5views1.htm

Studies in the News is a very current compilation of items significant to the Legislature and Governor's Office. It is created weekly by the State Library's Research Bureau to supplement the public policy debate in California’s Capitol. To help share the latest information with state policymakers, these reading lists are now being made accessible through the State Library’s website. This week's list of current articles in various public policy areas is presented below.

Service to State Employees:

When available, the URL for the full text of each item is provided.

California State Employees may contact the State Information & Reference Center (916-654-0206; cslsirc@library.ca.gov) with the SITN issue number and the item number [S#].

All other interested individuals should contact their local library - the items may be available there, or may be borrowed by your local library on your behalf.

["This report contains information obtained from public records related to four examples of early State of California laws and policies that significantly impacted the California Indians’ way of life. These early examples include: the 1850 Act for the Government and Protection of Indians; State of California militia laws and policies related to 'Expeditions against the Indians'; and laws enacted during the first fifteen years of statehood that accommodated Indian tribes’ traditional fishing practices."]

["Many Indian nations are creating and running jails regardless of the costs, because they have determined that they can provide custodial services near home communities and with cultural and traditional components that are not met by mainstream facilities. They have also determined that the provision of essential law enforcement and custodial services are opportunities to expand tribal sovereignty in important ways."]

A Review of the Research Literature on the Influences of Culturally Based Education on the Academic Performance of Native American Students. By William G. Demmert, Jr. and others, Northwest Regional Education Laboratory. (The Laboratory, Portland, Oregon) 2003. 142 p.

["One of the major tasks facing Native American communities is to create lifelong learning opportunities that allow all the members to improve their quality of life, and to meet their tribal responsibilities through meaningful contributions to the local, national, and world communities in which they live and interact. The greatest educational challenge for many is to build learning environments that allow each of their young children to obtain an education that 'creates good people that are knowledgeable and wise.'"]

["This policy brief presents findings on the status of American Indian and Alaskan Native (AIAN) children in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.... According to the 2000 census, there were 111,000 AIANs in the region. These children and their parents face numerous social problems and economic challenges. This brief uses three decades of census data to provide an updated analysis of the socioeconomic status of AIAN children."]

["The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs has passed a resolution of national apology to Native peoples of the United States. S.J. 37 now moves on to the full Senate for consideration. Lead sponsor Sam Brownback, R-Kan., offered the bill 'so that healing and reconciliation can take place.'" Indian Country Today (June 30, 2004) 1.]

["While it would be misleading to fail to point out the severe problems of poverty, ill-health, underemployment, and other social difficulties that many children and families face in Indian America, we believe a great deal can be learned by examining the increasing number of successful Native communities."]

["Indian Leader Urges Bush to Help Tribes with Health, Poverty: Tex Hall painted a picture in which American Indian leaders are challenged with high poverty rates, severe impediments to economic development and a skeletal health system. Nearly one-fourth of American Indian households have no telephone service, more than 14 percent of reservation homes lack electricity and 8 percent have no running water." Associated Press State & Local Wire (January 31, 2003) 1.]

["The report finds that the United States is not meeting its obligation to Native peoples, an obligation rooted in the history of forced removal from lands and confiscation of natural resources that they depended on for their livelihood. The study finds evidence of pervasive unmet needs in health care, housing, law enforcement and education in Native American communities due to the government failure to honor promised funding." PR Newswire (July 14, 2003) 1.]

["(S. 575) seeks to provide support for American Indians and other indigenous language 'survival' schools.... It is designed to only support existing schools and will probably have its biggest impact in Hawaii, where the island's indigenous language is taught in many schools.... This is not to say that it will not affect California tribes at all. Hinton says that existing programs, such as the one at Pechanga will benefit from this legislation." Indian Country Today (July 16, 2003) 1.]

["To American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians, our languages are synonymous with cultural identity. Without language there is no way to communicate and pass on the values and teachings from elders to tribal youth. Sadly, many tribal groups have already lost their language."]

["One in four of the 4.1 million American Indians and Alaska Natives counted in the 2000 Census now calls California or Oklahoma home, the Census Bureau reported… [with] California boasting the largest presence, 628,000 people.” San Francisco Chronicle (February 13, 2002) A3.]

Indian Economic Development: Relationships to Economic Development Administration Grants and Self-determination Contracting is Mixed. By the Governmental Accountability Office. GAO-04-847. (The Office, Washington, DC) September 2004. 93 p.

["GAO analyzed all Economic Development Administration grants made to Indian tribes from 1993-2002 and determined what economic development resulted.... GAO also analyzed the relationship between changes in tribes’ economic profile and the extent to which they had self-governance or contracting arrangements to perform their own services."]

Experimental Research in Culturally Based Education: An Assessment of Feasibility: Final Paper. By Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Prepared for the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. (The Laboratory, Portland, Oregon) June 2004. 90 p.

["Survey results strongly suggest that community involvement is critical and needs to take place early. Not only would the research need support and approval from various community agencies, its design and implementation would also require extensive input from stakeholders. Of particular importance is support and buy-in from tribal councils, school boards, and parents. To that end, we recommend that the process of site selection, as well as designing experimental research include ample opportunities for Native community input and dialogue."]

["This report responds to the Executive Order (13096 ). It summarizes the current state of research and describes.... Running throughout the discussions of the research topics are considerations of appropriate research methods and approaches and the clear demand from Native educators, leaders, and parents that researchers develop information that can be applied now."]

["It's long been known that the culture of a student is one factor that influences his or her learning style, but recent research indicates that even in mono-cultural classrooms, individuals operate with a broad range of learning styles. The authors discuss general theoretical perspectives on learning styles and their own work on the learning styles of American Indian and Alaska Native students. They maintain that even in single-culture classrooms, teachers must use a variety of instructional approaches so that all students can learn effectively. This digest also includes case studies of instructional approaches that accommodate different learning styles and a discussion of their effectiveness."]

["One of the major tasks facing Native American communities is to create lifelong learning opportunities that allow all the members to improve their quality of life, and to meet their tribal responsibilities through meaningful contributions to the local, national, and world communities in which they live and interact. The greatest educational challenge for many is to build learning environments that allow each of their young children to obtain an education that 'creates good people that are knowledgeable and wise.'"]

["The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) oversees 185 schools serving 48,000 students in 23 states.... State and local leaders representing rural districts across the country have raised concerns about the The No Child Left Behind Act's impact. But even in comparison with those districts, BIA systems face challenges that still stand out."]

[Includes: "A Brief History of American Indian Education"; "Language and Cultural Values: Defining Who We Are"; "American Indians and Their Cultures"; "Refusing to Believe in the Doctrine of Failure: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy for American Indian Children" and others." NOTE: Widening the Circle.... is available for 3-day loan.]

["More than half the fish in the nation's lakes and reservoirs have levels of mercury that exceed government standards for women of child-bearing age and children, according to an environmental coalition's analysis of a survey by the Environmental Protection Agency. A breakdown of the survey findings from the first two years of a four-year study was the basis of the report." New York Times (August 3, 2004) A15.]

["The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation violated state and federal law by diverting most of the water from the San Joaquin River to agriculture for more than 50 years, a federal judge ruled.... The specific question was whether the agency is legally liable for the decimation of Chinook salmon and other types of fish that were native to the upper reaches of the river before construction of Friant Dam in the early 1940s." Sacramento Bee (August 28, 2004) 1.]

["The legislation signed by the (New Mexico) Governor in March will establish a Secretary of Indian Affairs position in the Governor's cabinet.... The department will be comprised of an administrative division and program service division and will be the coordinating agency for intergovernmental and interagency programs that deal with tribal issues in the state."]

["This final Comprehensive Trust Management Plan ... presents a strategic plan to guide the design and implementation of integrated trust reform efforts.... In January 2002, the Secretary of the Interior launched an effort to develop a comprehensive approach for improving Indian trust management.... By examining the entire organization and its service delivery model, DOI is building the framework for modernization and initiating a business culture change. While much remains to be done in the long term, this plan is a major milestone toward achieving a performance-based, accountable trust management system."]

Broken Promises: Evaluating the Native American Health Care System. Draft Report for Commissioners' Review. By the United States Commission on Civil Rights. (The Commission, Washington, DC) July 2, 2004. 145 p.

["Health care for many Native American in this country sinks to Third World levels.... deaths from alcoholism are 770 percent more likely ... from tuberculosis, 650 percent; and from diabetes, 420 percent.... The Indian Health Service ... is so underfunded that it spends only ... about half of what the government spends on prisoners." Washington Post (August 30, 2004) A22.]

["This report offers invaluable assistance by documenting where and how discriminatory practices take place.... The findings will enable HUD to devote more attention, including enforcement that penalizes illegal discrimination to communities with significant Native American populations."]

["This study is designed to examine the appropriateness of outcome based regulation as a framework for aboriginal child care. The purpose of this study is to document recommendations from aboriginal communities and individuals and analyze frameworks that have adopted an outcome based regulatory process."]

["This report indicates that there were similarities between American Indian children and other children in areas such as referral types, age, and gender distribution, reasons for removal from home and adoption rates. Areas where there were a difference included a higher referral rate and higher poverty rate for American Indian children. In addition, a slightly higher percentage of American Indian children were placed in out-of-home care but a slightly lower percentage of American Indian children exited out-of-home care to reunify with their parents."]